TV Channel

Part 1: A Global Gathering for Peace: Reflections on Spirituality, Inner Peace, and India’s Legacy Music, and then you will also hear some other performers. So please welcome our next performers. Hello, hello Switzerland, Finland, hello Germany, hello Croatia, hello India, oh, hello Slovenia, hello Great Britain, hello Austria, ooh, many stars, hello America, where is, where is… hello Hungary, such beautiful flags. My name is Rok and I come from Slovenia. Today I will perform a couple of songs for you. Two of them are in my home language, Slovenian, and one is in English. So, one you will understand, two maybe. So, let’s start with the first one. Thank you all for coming. Hello, hello… hello. Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā. In whose name is this World Peace Council founded, and to whom is this present World Peace Conference dedicated? Then my sincere adoration to Reverend Paramahaṁsa Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī, without whose concerted efforts this Peace Council could not have been possible. Then, I would also like to say my sincere thanks and greetings to the chief organizer, Kṛṣṇa Nānjī, who was our host six years ago when we visited Budapest, and again this time. It is really a great privilege and honor for all of us to invite you to this conference and share our ideas and views about world peace and what is being done in India, particularly by Swami Maheshwaranandaji. As you have seen in yesterday’s film, what kind of efforts are being made, even in India, by Swāmījī. You are well aware of the efforts he is making towards achieving world peace and for the betterment of mankind in so many European countries and on other continents. But those who have not visited India may not know what is being done in India. So first of all, I would like to say a few things about what has been done there. Swamiji, though he has been in Europe for over 30 to 35 years, he keeps visiting India, and he has several ashrams there, from which he is undertaking various humanitarian activities in India as well. Besides Rajasthan, which is the native town of Swāmījī, he visits other parts of our country also and spreads the message of peace and brotherhood. So his effort is not confined to one part; his effort has been globalized. And here I would like to convey my sincere thanks and adoration to Swāmījī. The subject of spirituality and inner peace, which is the main theme of this particular world peace conference, is a subject which I think I am not the competent person to talk about, because this is a subject for knowing. All things which we call spiritual, our saints and sages, they have renounced the world. They have devoted their complete life to searching for what is spiritual, what is real, what is truth. But still, I, being the ardent follower of Swamījī, would like to say something. What is spirituality? What do we understand, and what do common men say about spirituality? Spirituality, you can say, is that which is in contrast to materialistic things. What the day-to-day life we have, what worldly things we see, if we try to see beyond all these things, that is spiritual. If we try to find the answers to so many things which we cannot explain by logic or by argument, that is the spiritual thing. And whichever thing takes us closer to God, God who showers His blessings upon all—He may be from any continent or any part of the globe, but God showers His blessings upon all. So when we try to learn about God and His blessings, we try to analyze; this is spirituality. So this is the common thing which I am telling, though this is a vast subject which a person like Swāmījī, who is the embodiment of all our Vedāntic teachings and learnings, can explain very well. But still, I am making an effort to say that spirituality and inner peace are things which can help us achieve world peace. Then, while talking about spirituality, I would certainly like to quote Mahatma Gandhījī, who described spirituality and what is scientific humanism. He never talked about spirituality alone, but he said that spirituality includes the use of science, technology, and our knowledge. Though I am not here to explain the teachings of Gandhījī, because here it would be just like showing a lamp to the sun. Gandhijī’s descendant, Mr. Arun Gandhi, is here. He has explained Gandhījī’s teachings, which are, I think, a kind of illumination to all of us. And what we understood earlier, this is a further modification and correct definition and explanation of his theories. But still, Gandhijī always said that the use of science and technology should be made for the benefit of mankind. So he developed the theory of scientific humanism. He not only talked about spirituality, but he thought of the welfare of mankind, which we can achieve through truth, through love, and through compassion. And this is the message he always gave. Instead of tolerance, he said that we should develop respect, respect for each other, respect between two cultures and diverse opinions. We should respect each other. We should respect one another. He may be a person from any continent, and through this, we can achieve inner peace. Inner peace, what is that? Inner peace is a thing which an individual can try to achieve. And if we are having peace inside our heart, we have nothing which is tormenting us, then we can say that we have achieved inner peace. And this message of inner peace will certainly affect the other person also. He may be in your neighborhood, he may be a person in the same village, town, or in your adjoining countries. Inner peace also, we can contribute to achieving world peace if we are close to nature, we try to protect nature, sustain nature, and if we say good words, sweet words, do good things to others, respect others, and value others’ opinions. Then certainly this will not only please us, but it will please others also. So, this is my brief message: by doing some good things, following the right path, following the path of truthfulness, love, and compassion, we can find inner peace and spread the message of peace to our colleagues, to our friends, and to all of us. So I convey my best wishes to all the participants who are here and who have given us an opportunity to interact with you and share ideas with you, and I wish all the success to the organizers of this conference. I wish all the best and convey many, many greetings to the people of Hungary and to the people who are present here. Thank you very much. Okay, Śrī Svāmī Mādhavānanda Vilagde will talk about the World Peace Council, so welcome her. Dear friends, respected guests, dear Swamiji, I am proud to say that it has been almost a decade of delivering the message of Mahatma Gandhi and Śrī Mādhavānanda at the World Peace Summits organized throughout the world. The summit promotes not only the declaration of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but also other UN documents and initiatives. Promoting the practice of yoga as a balancing principle, which brings inner peace and inner contentment, the summit also supports the UNESCO Constitution, which states that since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of the men that the defenses of the peace must be constructed. Gathering thousands of participants of different national, ethnic, and confessional backgrounds from all around the world, the World Peace Summit strongly supports the idea of a global movement for a culture of peace. As a set of values, attitudes, modes of behavior, and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts, Purījī Prakāś, Purījī Prakāś… In the message of tolerance and respect for all living beings, the summit supports the main objectives of Manifesto 2000. Respect all life, reject violence, share with others, listen to understand, preserve the planet, rediscover solidarity. I want to express my thankfulness and a great respect to the founder of the World Peace Summit and the Council, Panohan Swami Maheshwarananda, who dedicated his life to help people understand themselves and to understand others, to love and protect all living beings, and ultimately to realize God. Swamiji’s enthusiasm and selfless work in the last 40 years to reawaken the spiritual values based upon the principles of love, compassion, kindness, humility, and purity have inspired numerous people throughout the world to follow the path, the same principles, to try to change themselves and be worthy of being human. Planting numerous world peace trees around the world and organizing inter-religious world peace prayers to develop awareness of world peace in numerous cities in Croatia, Austria, Spain, Germany, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India, Swamiji has inspired thousands and thousands of people to light candles, which were floating on the sea, surfaces, lakes, and rivers, with wishes and prayers for peace among all cultures, nations, and religions. Besides all, through the activities of the World Peace Council, Swāmījī intensively supports the humanitarian projects and programs developed for the local area of Pali, Rajasthan, India, for school children, healthcare, water supply and firefighting service, promoting in that way the second millennium goal to achieve universal primary education. The third goal is to promote gender equality, the fifth goal is to improve maternal health, and the seventh goal is to ensure environmental sustainability. Through his strong public commitment to tolerance, respect, and understanding for all religions, cultures, and nationalities, Swāmījī became known as a messenger of peace. His significant work has been acknowledged by social, medical, religious and political dignitaries in different parts of the world. The United Nations and UNESCO were founded to bring about world peace, but according to the statement of the Rector General of UNESCO, peace is more than an absence of war. Peace should be constantly cultivated and protected, and someone should permanently remind us of that. Swamījī is such a person. May his work be an inspiration for all of us. May all of us achieve our inner peace, because as Swamījī said, if within us there is no peace, we cannot create peace in the world. And peace is the common desire of all. Thank you very much. Good afternoon, everybody. Most respected Chairperson Swamījī, distinguished guests, delegates, peace representatives, ladies and gentlemen. I am Van Himmel Burwa from Bangladesh. On behalf of 1,140 million people, including different religious leaders and socio-cultural workers of Bangladesh, I just extended my heartfelt greetings and warm felicitations to the peace representatives, delegates, and youth, peace activists, and friends assembled here from different countries at this historic gathering of the 8th World Peace Summit for the promotion of peace, prosperity, and peace. Mahāprabhudīp Karatā He Kevalam, Mahāprabhudīp Karatā. In our country right now, I like to invite and also request Mr. Swāmījī to come on the stage, because I bring a little gift for him, and also Mr. Arpon, you can come on the stage. Okay, thank you, everybody, for joining this beautiful peace conference. Thank you to all of you whose efforts are including these types of very beautiful programs. I thank you all. That is all. Thank you. Subhas Chandra Bose, please welcome Surya Bose. Respected Swamiji, distinguished guests, your excellencies, and brothers and sisters, it is a great privilege for me to be here with you today to address this august gathering. In my professional capacity, I think I’ll be trespassing into areas of spirituality and peace where I don’t think I’m competent enough to speak, but on the other hand, due to maybe the privilege of belonging to a family which has played a key role in the independence struggle of India, and also in getting together several different factions of society, religious and otherwise, to unite and work together, I think I can speak a little bit about these areas, but more from what I have heard from my father and from others in the family. And, of course, what I’ve experienced myself in India. Of course, I have spent more than half of my life outside the country, but I’m still very much an Indian. Now, maybe I wrote a speech, but I’ve put it aside; I didn’t bring it with me, because so much has been spoken and discussed about the theme of inner peace, I thought it would be superfluous for me to add to it. So, I would talk a little bit about, maybe the audience here are not that well informed about the situation India had when we were under foreign domination, imperialistic domination for over 200 years, and in a country which is enslaved, I don’t think you can talk of inner peace. So the main aim of most of those who were trying to do something for the country before we became independent was to get our independence first. Perhaps I was asked today by Rāmujī how I would define or describe Subhāṣ Chandra Bose, my Grand Uncle, in a few lines. Now, I’m going to borrow some definitions given by others, which are quite pertinent. Now, I read somewhere, I don’t know whether it was in one of the recent newspapers on the internet, R.K. Bhatnagar, he was the press secretary of the president and consultant to the prime minister of India during ’93 to ’96 or so. And he described Subhāṣ Bose in the following terms: In statesmanship, administrative ability, and catholicity of views, he was like Akbar. Morally, spiritually, and intellectually, he was like Swāmī Vivekānanda. I would go back a little. When I was about 14 or 15, I took part in an essay competition in Calcutta organized by the Rāmakṛṣṇa Mission Institute on Swami Vivekānanda’s influence on Subhāṣ Chandra Bose. Now, as most of you know, Swami Vivekananda propagated Ramakrishna to the world and represented for the first time the Hindu religion in the Congress of Religions in Chicago on the 11th of September, 1893. But when I started reading, I was much too young, I think, to understand Swami Vivekananda, but I read all that I could get my hands on. And I found very interesting what he had said. He was very clear, very precise, and that’s exactly what you find in Gandhījī’s writings. He was very, very simple in his construction of sentences in English, which everybody could understand. And you find politicians today, or other preachers, who make it so complicated you wouldn’t know what they want to say. Another definition or description of Subhāṣ Bose was during the war in Southeast Asia. He was in Thailand. He was in Vietnam. He was all over the place. But then the Prime Minister of Thailand, Bipul Sangram, said in introducing Subhāṣ Bose, “We have been talking of Buddhism over centuries. We live Buddhism here. We discuss theories and practice. But today I present to you the living Buddha,” and that’s how Bipul Sangram defined or described Shubhash Chandra. Now, there was no politician from the 1920s until Gandhījī passed away who was not influenced by him, and most of them who were close to him were very much under his influence and also politically carried out his mission. Now, Subhash Bose was definitely with him, but he had a certain difference of opinion as to how the freedom struggle should be organized. But in spite of all that, the love and respect that they both had for each other was tremendous. In 1944, when the Indian National Army of the Āzādī government, which was the first provisional government of free India, was set up in Singapore on the 21st of October 1943 and moved to Rangoon, in 1944, when the Indian National Army was advancing towards India, and when Colonel Saukat Ali hoisted the Indian flag on Indian soil in Moerang after 200 years of subjugation, Subhash Bose made a radio broadcast and addressed Gandhijī, saying, “Gandhijī, father of our nation, we want your blessings.” See, this was the first time that Gandhījī was called the father of our nation. And it was not from Jalal Nehru or Patel, it was Subhash Chandra Bose who called him that. Another greeting that was coined, in fact, in Europe, in Germany, which almost all Indian politicians use quite often, I mean, in public. I would repeat it here, and I would like you to say that as well. It is something which Shubhash Bose had coined, and which is something like in Germany you say “Grüß Gott,” in Bavaria you say “Guten Tag,” somewhere else, or whatever the greetings are. Jai Hind, and I would like you to say Jai Hind. Thank you. It is not just amongst Indians, it’s for everybody else also to greet. I have digressed a lot, but what I wanted to say was that Shubhash Bose’s ideology was very much based on—his spiritual ideology was on Swami Vivekānanda, which is a common base for others as well. His political guru was Chittaranjan Das, I do not want to add any more names to confuse the issue, who died very early, but who was also a follower of Gandhijī, so the whole lineage is there. Now, he was always for peace, but you have to pay for it. And at that point in time, we were fighting for the freedom of the country. And as I give you an example, in his government, the provisional government to free India, there was one kitchen for Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and all the other religions. Mahāprabhujī Karatā, Mahāprabhujī Karatā He Kevalam. And, of course, the partition of India was one of the major problems we had, which carried on. We now have three countries instead of one, under a Buddhist king, Aśoka. We were the largest, I mean, India area-wise. I mean, we extended almost to Persia on one side, and, of course, to Burma on the other side. I’m reminded of our poet Ravindranath Tagore, who was very much interested in politics but never got involved in politics, yet always influenced our politicians to think of freedom, freedom from subjugation, from bondage. Gandhijī and Tagore both had a lot of admiration for each other. Tagore called Gandhījī Mahātmā for the first time. And I think Gandhiji called Tagore the sentinel, if I’m not mistaken. The grandson is here. I want to read out a poem by Tagore, which I think is very appropriate today. With your permission, I would. “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, where knowledge is free. Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls, where words come out from the depth of truth, where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection, where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit, where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action.” Part 2: The Dawn of Peace: Voices on Inner Harmony and Global Responsibility “Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake.” I would, with all my heart and all that I can personally contribute, like to wish all success, Swāmījī, to your world peace effort. I think you are living it, not merely preaching it, and that is, I believe, more important than anything else in today’s world. Thank you very much. Köszönjük szépen. Please welcome Gyula Horváth. I am a city politician, so I would like to participate as a politician in this discussion about the peace of the world and the peace of the inner world. At this conference, on this summit, you can discuss different questions, and these questions are of interest to me; they came from me. I am very happy to be here. The past five hours have been a strength to me, so thank you to all of you. The world and many nations are often addressing big issues, and we have heard about the crisis in some of the presentations and the economic impacts of that. If we only concentrate on that part, however, I think we are making a mistake. This crisis did not start last year; it started earlier on, and not just in the economy. This crisis began when morals started slowing down, when morals weakened, and when there began great waves of mistaken values. This is what we need to assist people with: to help them find the direction for going on, for carrying on, for finding themselves, so that through their internal peace, they can be foundations for world peace. There are a lot of events happening. We are witnesses to many, many things that fully qualify for the concept of influential pollution. And I consider this, and I live through this, as violence. Mahāprabhujīp Karatā He Kevalam Mahāprabhujīp Karatā He Kevalam… Learned, responsible people have a responsibility for the people who are endowed with only much more modest circumstances and opportunities. Does any man have the right to do something foolish? Yes. Does a learned man have the right to stand by without warning or closing, without trying to help? I do not think so. Talent, I think I can say it here, does not matter if you are a politician, a teacher, a priest, or just a decent man—not for those who consider it as a manner. This is the only way we can expect the representatives of power to work and to decide in ways that are appropriate for the rest of the people. What I would like is for the world and for my country to see the dawn as soon as possible. And I mean the dawn that is described in an ancient story in the following way. Master Kuru with his disciples is discussing, after nights of discussion, about when is the moment that dawn comes. The master asks one of the disciples, “Tell me, which is the moment that dawn arrives?” The disciple said, “This is the moment when you can distinguish a dog and a goat.” The master shakes his head, no, no. As he did, another disciple wanted to speak. He says it is the moment when you can distinguish a pear tree from a fig tree. “No, you are wrong,” the master says. A couple of other thoughts come up, but finally the disciples ask, “Master, tell us, when is the moment when the dawn arrives?” And then he says, “Dawn will come when you look at the person sitting next to you and you see your brother.” Thank you for your attention. Thank you, and now we will have a short break before we continue our program. See you later. Please welcome Professor Goroslav Keller. Thank you. Your Holiness, dear friends, our last speaker was Horvat, which, as far as I know in Hungarian, is Krat. So you already heard one Krat; I am the next one. My grandfather actually spoke Hungarian fluently. I am coming from the area which is only seven kilometers from Berzence. You never heard of this small village near Natstadt. And you will appreciate that I am speaking in Patan; nobody told me that I am going to speak after five hours of a terrible drive through the Hungarian mountains. I just could not find my way through. Your Holiness, the first time I had the privilege to meet you was in Zagreb when I was representing Australia to Croatia. I was the Honorary Consul of Australia in Croatia. Next time I had the privilege and pleasure to meet you in Sydney as Consul General of Croatia to Australia. Today I am not representing anybody. Actually, that is not true. I do not represent my school, my colleague professors, or my students, but I am representing my children. Four of them: one is in Sydney, three are in Zagreb. So, as a father and a teacher, I have to ask myself, and I am asking you, what kind of world are we leaving to them? And I found that without ethics and aesthetics, we are sentenced—we are condemned—to disappear. I know it sounds terrible, but humankind is at this crossroads, either to find its new ethics and aesthetics or to be ruined. The choice is ours. We developed—I come from a university—we developed scientific and technological tools. Thank you very much. I cordially wish for all of you to be heard, not by yourselves, but by the global community, and even more importantly, by those people who are making decisions for us, in our name. Thank you very much for your attention. Thank you very much. Please welcome Marija Cvejić, Vice President of the City of Novi Sad. I would like to say a welcome speech from the Mayor of Novi Sad, Mr. Igor Pavličić, and then a few words from me. Dear ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the City of Novi Sad and on my own behalf, I would like to extend my greetings to all the participants of the summit. Mahāprabhudīp Karatā Mahāprabhudīp Karatā He Kevalam. I would like to use this opportunity to wish all the participants successful work at the conference. I believe it will result in the growth of inner peace within ourselves, for the sake of peace among ourselves. Sincerely yours, Igor Pavličić. And now, a few words from me. Your Holiness Swamiji, ladies and gentlemen, I come from a country that has been struggling with the memories of war, pain, anger, and many fears. At present, this is also a country that strives to be integrated with the rest of the region, Europe, and the world, accepting mutual understanding, respect, compassion, and responsibility as its essential values. I feel grateful and privileged to be a part of this immensely important summit, representing the city of Novi Sad and the Republic of Serbia for the very first time. Let peace and love within ourselves become inspiration to all those at home to whom we are to return. Thank you. Please welcome Mr. Gábor Foltán. II. Śrī Śrī… This played a vital role. You commit each morning to one angel of Mother Earth, each evening to one angel of Father Sky, and the noon of each day to the angel of peace. And one aspect of them, the basis of our faith, is unconditional cooperation with these angels and the free will of the individual. We are a receptive church, and therefore we call upon members of every religion and faith to celebrate together the love of our Father, Heavenly Father, and for the bounty of Mother Earth, which is given unto us today. And in this spirit, it was a great pleasure for me to be honored by your invitation to this conference. We believe it is important to break down the walls which have been built between these people over the years, and to make it possible for everybody to recognize that we are all children of the one Heavenly Father, and that we belong to this family. May you recognize each other as brothers and sisters. One important aspect of peace to us is peace between religions. I am proud to have participated in this event as an ambassador of this spirit. It is with pleasure and with amazement that I heard reports on deeds done for peace, bringing good fruit. Jesus said, “It is my peace that I leave to you as my testament.” Dear friends, let us build together this heritage with our deeds. I wish for all of you that we can share the peace with our fellow men, the flame of peace that we can take home in our hearts. And finally, allow me to greet all of you with the ancient greeting of the Āśīṣ: peace be with you. Please welcome Swami Chidānand. Praṇām Parampūjī Gurudev, and good evening, dear brothers and sisters. In this universe, there are numerous existing conflicts. And in this human being, in whom are also existing numerous conflicts, there is one conflict, eternal, between intellect and emotions, between the heart and the calculation. Emotion and calculation are struggling to make us happy. Sometimes mathematics can help the heart, not to kill the heart. Simple mathematics, simple figures can help us very, very much to awaken our heart. In the United States last year, four billion animals were slaughtered for human food. Four billion. Does it touch the heart? Of course. Many of us have been so lucky to meet in our lives Vishvagurū, Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, Paramahaṁsa, Śrī Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī, who took us all out of that hell. I counted that from the moment when I met my Gurudev, when I became vegetarian, 6,000 animals survived—only in my life, small or big: 6,000. My master made hundreds of thousands of vegetarians through his example, through his knowledge, through his love. And that makes billions of animals saved just through the presence of one real human. I am thankful that I did not kill those six thousand animals. And the way to a non-violent world is through Ahiṃsā. And the first step, which we cannot avoid, is vegetarianism. It is so simple. Simple as it is, the figures tell us everything. Thank you, Swamiji, for saving me from it. Köszönjük szépen. Please welcome Muktamānyī. Szanám, Swamijī, distinguished guests, brothers and sisters, dear friends. I have a very nice topic today. My topic is a happy and healthy life through Ayurveda. Today, I was listening to many, many lectures, and each and every lecture had something which confirmed what is also in my lecture, what I tried to prepare for this topic. It deepens it, and it confirms it. Let us see what it will be. Ayurveda is not only an ancient Indian medical system or something that is only for healing; it is very holistic. It is the knowledge about life itself. The uniqueness of Ayurveda is that it sets value on both, on the physical and on the mental side. This is very unique for Āyurveda. It is a science which describes everything that is harmful for life, but also what is beneficial for life. What makes a life happy, and also what makes a life unhappy—this is also described. And also, how to lead a proper course of life. It gives direction about the lifestyle itself: when to get up, what to do at the right time, and so on. We will listen a little bit later, and what for? To achieve the supreme quality in physical, spiritual, mental, and social health. The supreme quality—this is the topic, not only a little. The supreme quality, and this is individual for each of us, very individual and different. The common knowledge of both sciences is deeply rooted in the Vedas, as we know. So this is why these sciences are deeply interacting. One supports the other. In old Vedic, Āyurveda means the knowledge of life. So what is life, and what is the knowledge of life? There is a clear definition in the Vedas, which is that life, āyu, is the constant and continuous union and conjunction of body, mind, senses, and ātmā. Ātmā is sometimes translated as soul, but it should be translated as the Self, the higher Self, something that is above us, and this is very important. The scope of Ayurveda is twofold: to maintain the health of the healthy and to cure those who are affected by diseases. That shows clearly that the main focus of Āyurveda is prevention—how to live a life in order not to get ill or to get any disturbances. And for that, some tools are given. And of course, the uniqueness of Ayurveda always takes into consideration the body and mind, both separately. One has an effect on the other. When we go to the second part of the scope of Āyurveda, the healing, what does an Āyurvedic physician do to heal a patient? He always takes note of the aggravated doṣas. Doṣa is a term which I will explain a little bit later. This must be accepted as it is in the moment. He looks at the damaged tissues. How is the situation of the tissues? Under what condition does the patient live, and under what influence of environment does he live? What strength does this person have? How is the constitution of the patient? How is the digestive power? And how are the psychological factors which are influencing? All that is considered by an Ayurvedic physician before he starts to make a diagnosis, to choose the right therapy. So it is not only the symptoms on the surface; it goes much deeper. There are many signs, the so-called Pūrva Rūpas, the signs which can be seen before disturbances are coming. And so, the Ayurvedic physician has the opportunity to start therapy before. This is the doctor’s work. I cannot do it because I am not an Ayurvedic doctor. I take more care of the prevention to have a good and happy life, a good and happy lifestyle. What does it mean to be physically and mentally healthy? This is also given in the text. There is one of the most important doctors, Vaidyas, of the old Vedic text. His name is Suśruta. He lived around 100 years past Christ, it is said. I cannot prove it; it is said. He made the last compendium of all these ancient writings, and nowadays teachings are based on this Suśruta Saṃhitā. And he says, “Healthy is he—physically healthy is a person—whose doṣas, as I said, Vāta, Pitta, Kapha are in equilibrium. His digestive power is in equilibrium.” His tissues are balanced and function normally, and now it comes. And healthy is a person—mentally healthy is a person—whose ātmā, indriyas, and mind are balanced and feel well. So we can clearly see how important it is and how it interacts with yoga, with meditation, with the āsanas, with prāṇāyāma, with the ethics, and all that. We can describe that, and we can see a little bit later again how it is described from the point of view of Āyurveda too. So before I go further, I would like to describe doṣa. This is a term which exists in Āyurveda and cannot be explained because there is no translation for that. What we can say is that the doṣas are related to the five elements. And two elements build one doṣa. And when we imagine the quality of earth, which has heaviness and is unmovable, a person who has more of the earth element in his doṣa—we can see this person has more of this quality of earth. A stable mind is steady, and the physical constitution is strong. When we see a person has more element of air, for instance, they are more movable, and thoughts are running around all the time. Digestion is good or not, because it is movement in the body and so on. Each and everything is described. In the Vedas, it is even described how to cook a lentil soup. If you can read Sanskrit, it is easy to find the place where it is written. It is like in yoga, but I cannot. I have to trust my teachers. So we can see also, by determining the doṣa and knowing the fact that it is related to the elements, that all elements have different qualities. So from that moment when fertilization has taken place, this individual is determined in this system of doṣas. What can we learn from that? That each and every person is different. We have different talents, we have different digestive power, we have different tissues; we have everything individual. And when I was listening this morning to all these beautiful speeches, it came into my mind—I think, recognizing that we are all individuals. This is the first thing, and with all our different behaviors, our different ways of understanding, and our different temperaments, this is the first step for peace, because we have to respect each other in the way that we are and not want to change each other into how we would like people to be. So it was a spontaneous thought. Maybe this is the reason why I speak about that. Respect and tolerance for the individuality of each and every one of us. What can we do to remain physically healthy? What kinds of tools do we have? Ayurveda offers the daily routine to follow, which is according to the laws of nature. Birds get up in the morning and sing, and at night they go to bed. Why should human beings behave differently? So we have to follow the daily routine of how we should live, how we should get up, what we should eat, at what time we should eat, and so on. This is all described in Āyurveda. Also, with the seasons, we should behave differently in winter than in summer. It is natural; we do it, of course. Nobody likes to eat ice cream at minus 30 degrees, nor hot soup at plus 30 degrees. We do it naturally, but more and more we should be aware of what quality nature offers us in the course of the seasons. What else can we do to remain physically healthy? We should follow a balanced diet. Balanced diet means that all kinds of food have a special significance due to the taste. Some are heating, some are cooling. This is very important to know. Secondly, we should know how much we should eat and how much we can digest. In my language it is said, you do not live on that which you eat, but you do live on that which you digest. So each and every one has a different bowl capacity. The first disturbance can come when parents put some food on their children’s plate, and they cannot eat anymore. And they say, “Eat, because there is only one spoon left.” So they immediately lose their own feeling for their bowl capacity. One should not overthink that. It is better not to give so much on the plate than to give too much. They lose completely their knowing about their own quality and what they should eat. We should know all the rules about sleep. In Ayurveda, you can use the elements and the doṣas, which are also coming in the run of the day, to use the energy and the quality of the doṣas in the day to get up or to go to bed. For instance, at 10 o’clock, it starts the kapha doṣa time. Kapha is heavy. So when people have problems with sleeplessness, they should try to go to bed in kapha doṣa time. Part 3: Inner Peace: The Answer to World Conflict Then they may find peace and happiness to stay. When people like to get up early in the morning and cannot, they should get up in Vāta Doṣa time, so before six, because this is the time when everything is light and easy. And then you can use the energy of Vāta Doṣa to get up easily, and so on. There are many, many examples. It can be described during the day, during the year, during a lifetime. Doṣas are present everywhere, from now on. Yes, and we should also know the rules about celibacy. Of course, we should not be free from physical contacts, but we should know when to do what, at what time, in the right way. This is moral, this is ethics. And also, we should use regular treatment for rejuvenation. This is not so difficult, because there are some products in our food items which are rejuvenating. For instance, milk, or ghee, or asparagus, or there is an herb which is called kuḍuchī. These four are the main, important ones. When you take them regularly, they help to rejuvenate. Besides many other things, of course—it is not the only one, drinking milk and becoming young and subtle. No, it is not like that. But it is one little step. What can we do to maintain mental health? And now we see how it is interacting with the yoga. We follow an ethical conduct. We all know what is good and what is bad. And at the end of the day, when we make a summary—what was good? What did I do? To whom did I speak? How? What did... We know exactly inside, in our heart, what was good and what was not good, what was ethical and what was not. So we follow self-inquiry and the meditation of yoga in daily life, and then we find out everything immediately. And it is not easy, it is sometimes painful, but it is the truth. And this helps to stay mentally healthy: to ask honestly, “How am I? What do I do? Was I ethical? Was I good? When I did a mistake, how can I improve? How can I excuse?” And so on. This is all ethics. How do I behave toward old people? How do I behave toward my teachers, and so on. What else can we do to maintain mental health? It is a very nice word. It is Dhāraṇyā Vega Dhāraṇā. Hopefully, I pronounced it well, but I took it from my scripts. It means to control the emotional urges, like anger, fear, greed, and all that. To control does not mean to suppress, but to give them the right direction. To understand, am I greedy? Do I have fear? Why? Do I allow myself to go deeper into that emotion, or what kinds of tools do I have to come out? Or am I like that? I accept myself, but I want to improve. This is the question: not to suppress, but to control, to give a good direction. Yes, as soon as we try to live a life according to the laws of nature, to consume healthy food, to have healthy activities in our daily life, to discriminate the good and the bad from everything, and to abide by moral conduct, we have a good chance to remain physically and mentally healthy. In this sense, the Ayurveda Academy of Yoga and Daily Life appreciates and supports wholeheartedly the efforts of the World Peace Summit 2009. And please allow me to convey my adoration and my praṇāms to His Holiness, Mahāmaṇḍaleśwar Paramahaṁswāmī Maheśwarānandajī. He is the founder of both wings: the Śrī Madhvānanda World Peace Council and the Āyurveda Academy of Yoga and Daily Life. Thank you very much for your attention. Köszönjük szépen. Please welcome Brigitte Didone. His Holiness, ladies and gentlemen, I am not supposed to talk. It is the first time, so I am very nervous, but I just want a word to say. His Holiness, I commend you and the organizers for organizing this conference. There is no doubt in my mind that it can only help to advance inner peace. Keep up your good spirit for the sake of humankind. Thank you. Köszönjük szépen. We are now all waiting for Swāmījī. Om śānti śānti... Om Śrī Alakh Purī Jī, Siddha Pīṭh Paramparā, Your Excellencies, Dear Brothers and Sisters, Dear Media and Organizers, this whole day it has been a heavy rain. I don’t know if you realized or not. With very big drops, and the rain was raining through this ceiling—that was the reign of wisdom. Beautiful words, like big pearls or diamonds. Many great personalities came from different parts of the world. Definitely, they have been trying for the last few months, weeks, or days to decide what they are going to speak here at this Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council Summit 2009. Republic of Hungary, beautiful city, Budapest. Their work, their thoughts were like a goldsmith who makes a beautiful crown and chooses beautiful diamonds and beautiful stones. Which stone or diamond of the jewel is appropriate to put on the crown? We know that this world at present is going through very big disappointment, troubles, and pain. Swami Chidānanda, what he spoke, it touched the heart of all. How many millions? Chidānanda spoke of billions of animals. How many millions of animals were killed in one year, only in America. If we count those animals, including fish, birds, and reptiles, how many billions of these beautiful creatures are killed without filling our heart? How many millions of tons of the blood of these beautiful living creatures were flowing in water or in this earth, ground, soil. If we save the life of one creature, it is a plus point for us, to be worthy enough that someone will tell us that we are human. Yes, the message of a great personality from the last century, a great Mahātma, Mahātmā Gāndhījī—you know, all dear brothers and sisters, it is said he was a vegetarian. But his grandson lived with him. May he agree with me or not? Arun, was your grandfather vegetarian? Yes. Now, I lived more than 40 years with my master, and I was also serving him as a cook. I used to cook for him, and I can tell you, never and never and never. In his past generations, they did not eat meat, eggs, or fish. If they accidentally touched some meat from dead animals, they immediately washed their hands with soap. Where the dead body is lying, all the negative energies appear. Where the dead body is, there death is dancing. When a family member dies, we remove the body and carry it to the graveyard. After that, we go for bathing and washing, and then what do we do? We go to the market and buy the dead body of a goat or a chicken and put it in our freezer. Do you think keeping meat or the body of a dead animal will bring happiness, positivity, or good spiritual energy into your house and into your mind? The answer depends on you. The subject of this meeting, this summit, my dear friend Monsignor Father David Kapo from Adelaide, South Australia, and I were constantly exchanging emails to find a good subject. And again and again, Father David said, “Swāmījī, the best would be, spirituality is the answer to the troublesome world.” I spoke with many people about this, and they said, “Oh, nowadays people are afraid of spirituality.” People are completely disappointed with religions and religious dogmas. “Please, Swamiji, ask Father David to change it a little bit.” So we came to the point: inner peace, the answer to the world conflict. Yes, the world situation we know very well, and we need not go far away. Just within our families, we know what kind of conflicts are there between husband and wife, parents and children, and neighbor to neighbor. We try to solve the conflict, but we are not able to do it. If I am working and organizing this conference as an inner peace answer to these troublesome words and conflicts, ask yourself, and I must ask myself too, and I am asking, since I gave this subject the name, did I solve some conflict or not? It is not easy. I love the person whom I really love. But if someone comes between, or someone has a slightly different opinion than me, then I am having a duality conflict with that person. Can I solve this? There are two forces pulling us in different directions. Four years ago—already time runs so quickly—I was in Barcelona, in some cultural house. There was on the wall a poster with two donkeys, and they were very hungry. This is coming from, they said it is from Mahātma Gāndhījī, not the donkey but the explanation. They were hungry, and both of them had a rope tied to their necks, only one rope, but tied to both donkeys’ necks. And on both sides, there was some grass to eat. This donkey would like to eat this side grass, and the other one wants to eat that side grass. But the thing between was a rope. They try and they try, but they cannot come to the food. They knew their feeder is there. Then the donkeys decided together to solve the conflict, and we shall come together as a coalition. They turned to each other and both went to eat together, and they could. Similarly, it may be that I have a conflict with someone, I don’t agree with someone, or with something he did. Am I able to forgive and understand? I don’t dare to say tolerance, because Gandhījī banned my word tolerance. I must say, do I respect? Where there is conflict, there is ignorance. If I am not capable of forgiving someone and understanding someone’s weakness, maybe ego or some different feelings, it means I myself am also in conflict, in ignorance. Our heart should be the heart of a mother or a father. It doesn’t matter what mistake a child makes, we don’t see that as a mistake. We forgive. There was a king, a mighty king, and he had one secretary, and his secretary was more clever than himself, the king. And the king asked his secretary, Birbal, “Akbar and Birbal, Birbal, who is the greatest in my kingdom, the best, the highest?” First, Birbal said, “Small child,” and Bahādur was very angry. He said, “You always insult me. Who can be greater and mightier than I? You should say that I am the greatest, little child. Go home.” For four months, he didn’t want to see his secretary, but without his secretary, he couldn’t survive either. One day, Bahāsa and his secretary were going somewhere, and one mother was sitting with a small child. And you know, it doesn’t matter which child it is, baby, humans or animals, we love the babies. When we imagine a baby, then love for the baby awakens in our heart. When we think of our mother, the love of a mother awakens in the heart. And when we think of our enemy, that hate awakens in our heart. Bahāsa said, “Oh, how lovely this child is. I would like to take him in hand.” He said, “No problems. Your Highness, please sit down.” And Birbal brought the child to Bahāsa. The child was about four, five, or eight months old. The child is very happy. While playing in the lap of Bahāsa, the child was kicking with his feet at Bahāsa’s chin. And Bahāsa said, “No, no... like this.” And then again, he was kicking with his leg. Birbal said, “Your Highness, who is the greatest?” “Yes, you are right. You are right. Baby, the child.” Birbal said, “Who dared to kick your jaw with his leg? No one but a little child, a little baby, because their heart is so pure; there is no conflict in their hearts.” So if I have some conflict with someone, and I say, “No, I don’t want to do anything, I have nothing to do with that person,” it means I am not capable of doing this. Often, people tell stories about Gandhījī. Once, a mother came to Gandhījī and said, “Gandhījī, tell my son, the child who is ten years old, because he loves you very much, Bāpū, tell him not to eat too many sweets, it is not good.” Gandhījī said, “Come after one month, I will tell you.” She said, “Why? You could tell just now.” But after one month, she came, and Gandhījī said to the child, “My son, don’t eat too many sweets because it is not so healthy.” And the mother of the child said, “Bapu, Gandhījī, you could have said this one month before.” Gandhījī said, “Yes, you are right, I could have said. But you know, I was in a dilemma. At that time when you told me, I was also eating a lot of sweets. I am eating and saying, ‘Child, do not do that,’ but my heart does not allow me. So be the example. Now, for one month I did not touch sweets, so my heart said, ‘Yes, you can tell this innocent child not to eat too many sweets because it is not healthy.’” It means we have to change ourselves. Be the change you want to see. So, I have to look at my watch, otherwise they will say he thinks he can talk as long as he likes. Well, the time is over, five minutes more than this. The respected mayor of the city should come, and when he comes, I will stop it. Until he comes, I will carry on. Please, can you tell me if he is here or not? Oh, thank you, welcome. So, this story which I want to tell, Gandhījī told this morning about a pencil. A similar thing happened with me with Gurujī about one bhindi. You know what is one bhindi? It is a vegetable, ladyfinger or okra. I will tell you this evening. I had to suffer for, not suffer but struggle, three months. I will tell you this evening, sorry. And I welcome the respected mayor of the beautiful city, Sambadhe. And we thank him that we could be here in this beautiful culture house. Thank you, sir. Welcome. Still, the fact that these declarations are current and are very important for us, because there is still a war, our internal peace is still not okay, we do have conflicts among one another, and the harmony of internal peace is something that is right for us. Somatak is no better a city than any other city in the world. We have the same people as anywhere else, but we, just like others, have... Śrī Śrī... Well, before Krishnanand will say his thanks and everything, I personally would like to thank Krishnanand very much and all his friends, Karmayogīs, and volunteers who have worked day and night so that this conference will be successful. So, dear Krishnanand, please come up. Thank you. So, you see, sometimes there are people like me who want to sit in the front, always. And sometimes there are some people who always try to be in the background; they don’t introduce themselves. It is a greatness. Baḍe baḍā nahīṃ kare, baḍā na bole bol, Rahīmana hīrā kab kahe, lākha hamārā mola. The great one never speaks great things about him or herself. Like a diamond never speaks, “I am a diamond, and my value is so and so.” Among us, we have Dr. Georgi Ipkovic, the member of parliament of Hungary and the mayor of the city of Sambadhez, who was already here. So we would like to welcome and thank you, the parliament’s member also. We need great personalities always. Even if they have two or three or four functions, it is still too little. You know, in how many parts we divided Gandhiji around the whole world? So still we need more and more. So, about satsaṅga and Gurujī’s spiritual teaching for world peace. Now, what I wanted to say before that, again I am taking your two or three minutes. Whenever Gandhiji had any situations in life to decide something, or there was a conflict, do not think that around Gandhiji everything was like heaven. To create heaven was not so easy. And Gandhījī, what he did, meditated. Gandhījī said, “Physically I can fast, but mentally I cannot. My mental tonic is my prayers in the name of God.” Gandhiji had a beautiful and very simple meditation place on the bank of the river Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, in the open air. Whenever there was anything, he went there and meditated. Yes, inner peace. To know, we have to enter inside ourselves, and that is meditation. Meditation is the way to happiness. Meditation is the way to peace. Meditation is the way to harmony, love, and understanding. And meditation is only the way that leads this individual consciousness to the cosmic consciousness. Yoga is the science of body, mind, and consciousness. Yoga is not only physical exercises and prāṇāyāmas. Yoga is that principle which harmonizes and unites the entire universe. There are three things: the space, the consciousness, and the uniting force which balances these both together, and that is yoga. Yoga is not a part of any religion; if anything, all religions on this globe are a part of yoga. Because yoga is universal, and all these spiritual, ethical, and moral principles are yogic principles. Coming from yoga, so yoga is the way to inner peace. Yoga is a way to union. Individual consciousness merges into the cosmic consciousness. That is the way to make the world happy and create peace. Five minute meditation every day. If you don’t know how to meditate, I tell you the easiest way. Make yourself comfortable and sit down on the floor, or in a chair, or lie down, or stand near the wall like this. Doesn’t matter. But be comfortable and relaxed, and what to do? Do nothing. That is the best meditation. Now, what should I do? Relax and go within thyself, and feel how you feel. That is all. That is the final meditation state. There are so many instructions: imagine this and imagine that, breathe left side in and right side out, and so on. This all is a parpañca. Finally, when you come to the meditation of peace and harmony, at that time all brief peace disappears. Therefore, Patañjali says two things. Atha Yoga Anuśāsanam. Yoga begins with discipline. Yogaḥ Citta Vṛtti Nirodhaḥ. And through the practicing of yoga, you can control and tranquilize the citta vṛttis, the restless thoughts, and be one with thyself. When the yogī was meditating, one farmer thought, “This man must be very lonely and unhappy. He has been sitting here for two hours at the bank of the river. What is he doing? He must be very unhappy.” So the farmer went to him and said, “My dear friend, what are you doing here? It seems you are very lonely.” The yogī looked to the farmer and said, “Yes, sir, I am lonely. Since you are here, before I was one with myself.” God bless you, all the best, and to those who will drive home now, I wish you a very, very safe and good journey. Thank you for coming to the beautiful city Sambadhey and attending this conference. Those who will stay overnight, we will have a beautiful evening film about Mahātma Gāndhījī, known as “Making a Mahātma.” It is a beautiful film, and it is from the Government of India. His Excellency, the Ambassador of India, was kind enough and gave me one DVD. And this evening after dinner, about 8 or 8:30, we will see there in Vape. There is also a beautiful big hall. Thank you. God bless you. And now I would like to thank for a beautiful and wonderful, very good moderation, moderating our dear sister Andrea.